Johnson, Baldwin make recommendations for long-vacant federal judgeship in Green Bay

Wisconsin’s two U.S. senators are taking another crack at filling a seat on the Eastern District U.S. District Court bench in Green Bay that has been vacant for four years.

Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson have recommended the nominations of either Brown County Circuit Judge Marc Aaron Hammer or personal injury attorney Byron Browning Conway for the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge William C. Griesbach in 2019.

Baldwin and Johnson previously recommended four potential candidates to the White House, which led the Biden administration to nominate Milwaukee County Circuit Judge William Pocan to the seat in 2021. The recommendations came from the bipartisan Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission.

“I am pleased our bipartisan process has yielded two uniquely qualified, highly experienced candidates to serve the people of Wisconsin with fairness and impartiality. I look forward to working with the White House and Senator Johnson to fill this vacancy expeditiously," Baldwin's office said in a statement.

After Biden nominated Pocan, Johnson reversed this previous recommendation and opposed the nomination.

Johnson raised concerns that Pocan was not from Green Bay and also contended Pocan had set low bail in some criminal cases.

After Johnson refused to submit a blue slip, a form that senators must fill out for nominations in their states, the Biden administration said it would wait for Baldwin and Johnson to provide new recommendations.

More: A U.S. Senate tradition relies on 'blue slips' to approve federal judges. Here's why some Democrats want to blow that process up.

Biden made a similar decision with the nomination of Sopen Shah, who faced opposition from Johnson for an appointment as U.S. attorney for the Madison-based western district.

“Senator Johnson is pleased that the re-established judicial nominating commission was able to find and agree upon two candidates for this open judgeship in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He appreciates the time and effort of all the commissioners,” Johnson's office said in a statement to the Journal Sentinel.

Hammer has served as a judge on the Brown County Circuit Court since 2008. He previously held assignments as the presiding judge of the Brown County Drug Treatment Court and also serves on the executive committee of the Domestic Violence Inter-Agency Committee and the Brown County Coordinated Community Response Team.

Hammer graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and attended law school at the University of Missouri.

Conway is a personal injury lawyer in Green Bay and represented Green Bay Packers running back James Starks after he was involved in a car accident that ended his career. Brown has also previously served as Brown County’s representative to the State Bar of Wisconsin from 2013 to 2018.

Conway graduated from Santa Clara University and attended law school at Marquette University’s School of Law.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Johnson, Baldwin make recommendations for vacant federal judgeship